To keep nagging my dad to drink more fluids???

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Background: I'm 33, my dad is 70. He is very hard of hearing (and getting him to wear his hearing aid would be worth its own thread), and he drinks about a pint of water on a good day. No kidding.
Needless to say, it shows. He is forgetful, irritable, sometimes confused.
My sister and I are pretty good at keeping tabs on his fluid intake, but he tends to react badly when either of us asks him to have a drink of water, no matter how little.
I am aware of the health concerns (and related embarrassments) surrounding hydration and urinary issues with gents of his age. I do not want to embarrass him, but neither do I want him to drive into a tree next time he's gone 12 hrs without water on a work related drive. Yep, he is still working on and off.

How the heck do I convince him that it's better to wee a bit more often than to risk life and limb in an accident??

(I have had a number of conversations about the subject with him, keeping it all light-hearted and funny. He is just oblivious to it all and I don't know what to do.)

Oh and sorry if any of this is not clear - English is not my first language so please bear with me!

Watching as have the same issue with my mother

Hi. Does your dad drink tea/coffee as well as the one pint of water?

bump - yep, he does. Industrial amounts of coffee and one mug of herbal tea on a good day (self-reported....)
I just don't know what to do. Don't want to incite angry (stroppy and rebellious) reactions, and I am aware of how embarrassing a sudden urge to go to the toilet can be, but I'm worried about his health.

How do you know how much he drinks? Why do you and your sister need to keep tabs on his fluid intake? My mother would go mad If I started monitoring how much water she drank.

I appreciate that you may be concerned but he is an adult with no issues and therefore surely it is up to him what he drinks? I often go 12 hours world drinkng water, but would have tea or coffee during that time.

*without drinking water

Coffee and tea also contain water. Leave him alone.

He is fine if he is drinking plenty of coffee. It is a myth that it's diuretic qualities cancel out the hydration.

I thought that this was going to be about a serious illness situation.

Why do you think that he needs more water, if he's drinking other fluids and he eats well?

I've worked in Care homes and in End of Life Care, unless a Patient was showing signs of dehydration and getting UTIs, we wouldn't push them to drink Water (but offer constant tea/coffee etc).

i think that you need to back off on this and not let it spoil the time that you do have together, tbh.

Will he eat watermelon and cucumber etc?

""Needless to say, it shows. He is forgetful, irritable, sometimes confused.""

That needs to be kept an eye on, but he may not want to face up to the issues that he's experiencing.

You could be ready with strategies, if he's open to them.

The irritability, could be because he's getting older and grumpy, or because he feels infantilised by you.

I think the water issue is a red herring. Sounds like he's getting plenty of fluids to me. 70 is not exactly the age of decrepitude - you and your sister may be driving him mad with your concerns .

My elderly Mum has just been into hospital with kidney problems and they have said she must drink 2 litres of water a day for healthy kidneys. They categorically said coffee and tea do not count! Drinking 2 litres may be a bit much if his kidney function is good, but in hot, humid, weather, drinking water is recommended for the elderly. However, stubborn people are difficult to change and my Mum has had a big shock. The measuring jug is in the fridge with water in it now!

On another thread, I posted about how I try to get my Mum to drink more.
When she takes any of her tablets, I tell her that the instructions advise that they should be taken with a full glass of water (which they do!). Because it is 'official' she tends to comply, even though left to her own devices she would only take a mouthful of water to swallow the tablets down.